Additional Concepts and Skills:

Multiplying, adding, and subtracting U.S. currency and standard units of measure

Representing, recording, and interpreting data

Understanding of basic fractions

Estimating and solving measurement problems

How we used it:

To get myself familiar with the program, I first watched the
DVDs by myself to learn Mr. Demme’s teaching style. The videos show him standing in front a class
(which remains off screen) teaching the particular lesson and conversing with the
class, asking them questions and interacting with them. Abbey actually liked that there is a
classroom on here. I think it made her feel like part of the class to have him
look at the camera and ask the questions, and to hear the class on the video
answering. Soon, she was answering right
along with them.

During each lesson in Gamma, he demonstrates a concept with
the manipulative blocks—his are larger and are magnetic for teaching purposes
on his whiteboard, but Abbey understood which ones he was using and how they
coordinated with her set. She would get
out the same blocks and follow along with him as he taught. While she tells me she doesn’t enjoy playing
with the blocks, I really see her “getting” it on a different level than if the
blocks were only on his screen and not under her fingertips.

We found a fun, portable way to keep Abbey's manipulatives at her fingertips!

Abbey’s learning style is very visual, and she really does
enjoy learning from videos and DVDs.
Even though these DVDs are not of the greatest picture quality, Abbey did
not notice at all, and loved having Math-U-See creator Steve Demme teach her the new math concepts
each week.

After each lesson, which is usually less than 10 minutes
each, Abbey opens her student workbook and begins working on the lesson
concepts just learned on the DVD.

Math-U-See has recently updated all student workbooks to include more
practice in each chapter. There are
seven pages of new concept, review, and application for each lesson---plenty of
opportunities to figure out if your child is understanding the new concept or
not.

As we began the work in the student book, I would have Abbey work each “A” worksheet. If she did well, and I could tell she was understanding, I would then have her work one or two problems on each of the next six pages
for extra practice, especially focusing on the application problems so that she
understands how to apply the new concepts to real life. If she was struggling through the “A” worksheet
and not quite grasping the new work, she was required to work the entire “B”
worksheet. If I felt she was still struggling,
an entire “C” worksheet was done. And
yes, I would let her take a few days to get through a lesson if necessary.

I love, love, love that Math-U-See says to
the us, the teachers—"mastery of a new concept can take two hours or two weeks--listen to
your child!"

The program emphasizes mastery of each concept before moving
on. “Knowing how to divide is important,
understanding when to divide is equally important.” ~Math-U-See Instruction
Manual.

More tips for success with this program:

·Build—Use
the manipulatives to demonstrate and model problems from the instruction
manual.

·Write
–Write down the step-by-step solutions as you work through the problems
together, using the manipulatives.

·Say—Talk
through the why of the math concept as you build and write.

Here’s what I think:

While Abbey is still not jumping up and down to do her math each day, I
have seen a real change in her. She is finally understanding that pesky Times
Table and is feeling proud of herself in terms of math mastery. I see her
moving more and more quickly through each worksheet and enrichment
activities. I can verbally quiz her now
and instead of scrunching up her face is utter frustration, she thinks for a
split second and answers the math fact! This alone makes Math-U-See worth its
cost!

Here’s what Abbey
thinks:

I can sum that up in one statement she made recently: “You have GOT to tell Claire’s (her BFF) mom
about this program, Mama!”

The Math-U-See site offers sample videos, sample pages from each level, and free placement testing so you can decide which level is best for your child. The levels are not determined by grade level, soI encourage you to take time on their website, and I especially encourage you to make the purchase, considering it an investment in your child's future.